November 16, 1952: Two not so smart hold up men sit sullenly in the offices of Paterson after their capture Friday and Saturday, the pair attempted a Ho-Ho-Kus robbery, shot at Ho-Ho-Kus policeman, held one resident at gunpoint for almost four hours, and stole the car of another. Detectives responsible for their capture are Peter Ventimiglia, Captain James Smith, Andy Sisco, John Philport and John Koehler.

1955: Mrs. Edward Roberts Jr, of 15 Gilbert Rd, Ho-Ho-Kus, looks at an estimated $300 worth of jewelry taken from her home, yesterday. The loot is held by the Ho-Ho-Kus Police Chief John A. McElroy.George Katsavakis, 53, third from the left, of Route 9W, Piermont, N.Y. and John W. Holland, 49, of 203 West 107th Street, New York City, were charged with Grand Larceny and ordered held for Grand Jury action. Special Patrolman George Eisenhauer, right, captured the pair in a 70 mile-an-hour chase on Rt 17.

August 28, 1955: Ho-Ho-Kus according to Police Chief John McElroy,has never had a more exciting day than May 10, 1935, When organizedcrime and violence paid its first and only visit quiet commuter-residentialcommunity in Northwest Bergen.

It was on that day that five New York City gunmen drove through townafter having held up Newburgh, N.Y. bank for $15,000. One of thegunsters objected to the share in the loot allotted to him, so his confederates pumped five bullets into the unwise objector anddumped the body on Franklin Turnpike.

McElroy took charge of the murder investigation and it was largelybecause of clues unearthed by him the the four were rounded upa week later in New York City, convicted and jailed. “The 20 years seem like yesterday. That’s one day I’ll never forget,” McElroy reflected.

McElroy, 59, joined Ho-Ho-Kus two-man force in 1927 after serving a year as a special officer. He was promoted from Patrolman and became chief in 1932. The current seven-man force also includesLt. Al Junta, Sgt. Ed Angersall, and Patrolmen George Gronton,Alois Meckel, Robert Marinelli, and William Menduno.

Despite weekend bumper-to-bumper traffic on the towns one-and-a-half-milestretch of Route 17 and the fact that the highway annually claims more lives than any other in the state, Ho-Ho-Kus hasn’t had a traffic fatality since 1951.

But McElroy notes that the opening of the Garden State Parkway hasincreased traffic considerably on the highway and place a new burden on secondary roads, notably Franklin Turnpike, which motorists use to avoid highway jam-ups.

The town has an average of two accidents a week on the highway andMcElroy says that following too closely and speeding, in that order, cause most. He has two patrol car with which to travel the highway and 40 miles of secondary roads.

McElroy, a boy scout executive in Ho-Ho-Kus, came to Ho-Ho-Kus in 1924from his native Hillburn, N.Y. He was a locomotive fireman before becominga cop. McElroy and his wife, the former Daisy Marino, of Hillburn,live at 125 Elmwood Ave.

May 22, 1955: William Menduno drives to his post as aschool traffic guard in a vehicle 32 years old than the borough's two regular squad cars. The situation came about when the regular marshal on duty at the Ho-Ho-Kusschool took sick at the same time that the department's second squad car went to a local garage for repairs.

Police Chief John McElroy in assigning Patrolman Mendunoto fill in for the ailing marshal, asked him to drive to andfrom his post four times a day in his own car.

Menduno agreed but the rub is that the bachelor police officer happens to be a collector of antique cars. He own three cars in total but all are Model T's. The newest is a1927 model and the third dates back to 1925. The 1923job functions best, so that the 35-m.p.h. top speed buggywas picked for the task.

No one disputes that this is the oldest patrol car in the state.Menduno, an Army vet of World War II, said the buggy attractsscores of spectators each trip and classes have been let out twice so students can get a better look.

The 27 year old son of Mr. and Mrs. Emanuel Menduno, of 51LeRoy Place, Ridgewood, drives ones of his old cars to work each morning anyway, he said. "I'm glad the kids get a bang out of it." The old car will remain in service at least one moreweek.

August 21, 1955: Cats, which are the most common of police mascots, according to Ho-Ho-Kus Chief John McElroy, are barred from the Ho-Ho-Kus headquarters on Franklin Turnpike. McElroy’s seven man force, keeps, feeds and nurses goldfish.

This has been going on for four years. The fish tank, which houses four big ones, has been maintained that ling on the desk sergeant’s counter. Their presence, McElroy added, charms kids and please the cops but alarms drunks.

The cops started out with four goldfish, presented to them by a fish hatchery operator, and although, many have died and been replace, the number is always kept at twice two.

Ho-Ho-Kus - "A fine piece of police work"That's the way Chief Robert Re described the action of Ptl. Pete Tiernan, who nabbed a pair of suspects in the armed robbery of a River Edge gas station.

Chief Re gave this account of the single-handed achievement by Tiernen

The officer, on patrol in a squad car, picked up a message on the statewide police radio that the Riverside Square Exxon station had been robbed and the the suspects were fleeing west on Route 4.

Tiernan positioned himself at Racetrack Road and Route 17 northbound in case the suspects left Route 4 for 17 - which they did.

He spotted the quarry about 5 p.m. and began a pursuit with his vehicle lights out, after alerting the Saddle River and Upper Saddle River police by radio. At Allendale Avenue, Tiernan forced the suspects car to the highway shoulder and arrested the occupants.

A search of the suspects, two Manhattan residents, produced the proceeds from the robbery. In the back seat of their car, reported stolen was a realistictoy weapon, an Uzi submachine gun, apparently used in the stickup.

The alleged robbers were charged in the Ho-Ho-Kus police station with possession of stolen property and auto theft, then turned over to River Edge police to face other charges.

April 9, 1983: Mayor W. Stuart Thompson, breaking ground for the new Police/Ambulance Corps. building. Police Chief Robert Re, chairman of the building commitee Robert Wahlberg, ambulance corps president, Margaret Colby, council president Robert Egner.

Ho-Ho-Kus Police Department members were promoted and sworn in at the town's reorganization session, Jan 2 including (standing from left) Lt. Harold "Bud" Minchin, Sgt. John Koch and (seated) Captain Russell Berke.

An 18-month-old Allendale boy was rescued from drowning Saturday night shortly after he was spotted at the bottom of his grandparents' swimming pool.

Mark Hammond, a family friend, jumped into the pool and pulled out Nicholas Altomare, who was blue and barely breathing, said the boy's grandmother, Carmel Altomare. Hammond, a former lifeguard, tried to resuscitate the baby, with little success, she said.

The family called the police at 7:31pm, and Officer Michael Tuttle arrived within one minute, police said. Tuttle resuscitated the baby, who was rushed from the West Saddle River Road house to The Valley Hospital in Ridgewood. The child was treated and released the same night.

The grandmother said the family is unsure how the child got into the pool. A large Family party was just breaking up and everyone was packing.

1986: Ptl. Tuttle and Ptl. Macchi working a security detail for Richard Nixon